Surprise
by Beckett Towns
Summary: Detective Beckett gets a surprise while working a case, but what is it?
1. Chapter 1

When I got home from school that day I didn't know what to think. There was a woman who looked about 30 standing on my front porch. She was very pretty, and had long brown hair that framed her face. She wore blue jeans and a brown leather jacket- not like the ones you see bikers wear, it was nicer than that.

She turned to look away from me, at my neighbor's house, and the sun reflected off of something on her hip. I realized it was a badge. She was a cop. Why was there a cop on my porch?

She looked in my direction and must've guessed who I was, because she started to walk toward me. She had green eyes, the same color as mine. She looked like she was sorry for me, and that's when I realized that something must be terribly wrong.

"Hi," she said, "Are you Jessica Reynolds?" God I hated that name.

"Jessie," I said

"Ok, Jessie then. I'm Detective Beckett." That name rang a bell, but I couldn't figure out why.

"Detective?" Why was there a detective at my door?

"Yes, I'm a homicide detective." She said calmly.

"Homicide? Who was murdered?"

"Well, your mother was found shot to death in Washington heights this morning."

"What?" That was the very last thing I expected to hear.

"I'm very sorry." She did look sorry. She looked like she knew how I felt- not how most adults think they know how you feel, but they really don't. Someone close to her must've been murdered, or injured by someone.

"Who would do something like that?"

"That's what we're trying to find out. I know it's hard, but can you think of anyone who would want to harm your mother?"

"What? No. No one. But she's not my mother, really. She adopted me about five years ago. I don't know much about her life before that, except that she was never married."

"You're adopted?" she asked, as if she wasn't sure she had heard me correctly.

"Yeah, I was in foster homes before that." That was when I realized where I had heard the name Beckett before.

"Do you know who your real mother is?"

I had read murder mysteries before, so I know that if my real mother wanted me back, she might've been the one who killed my adopted mother. I, however, thought that was extremely unlikely in this case.

"Yes," I said, "I don't know much about her, but I know her name is Katherine Beckett."

Detective Beckett stared at me, just now seeing who I was


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks for the reviews; I appreciate every one of them. I didn't realize how happy having someone actually read and enjoy my stuff would make me. Thank you all so much.**_

I stared at the little girl who just told me I was her mother. Why was it that the cases that involve my family members are the ones that I get without even trying? I hadn't seen this girl in 14 years, 2 years longer than the last time I saw my own mother. I hadn't seen her since I gave her up for adoption when I was 17. I needed to get back to the precinct to see if it was even possible that this was my kid.

This case already reminded me so much of my mother's case that it took all I had not to get too emotional and break down crying in front of the girl. This was not helping.

15 years ago, I didn't have the best relationship with my dad. During one particularly bad fight, I snuck out of my house and went to my boyfriend's house. We, well, we made Jessie.

We didn't mean to, that was never the intention, but it happened, and that was something I couldn't change no matter how much I wanted to.

I couldn't have an abortion. That was totally out of the question for me, but I couldn't take care of her. I didn't have the money, and my parents wouldn't help me.

The little girl- who wasn't really that little- now looked up at me with big green eyes. My eyes. Her hair was darker than mine though. She was searching my face for my reaction, and I wondered what she saw there.

She looked so much like me; I was surprised I hadn't seen that she was my daughter before_. I_ had named her Jessica. _I_ had given her up 14 years ago, and she had told me that she was adopted. It had been the hardest decision of my life, and I still wonder sometimes what my life would be like I had kept her.

She looked scared, and worried. Probably about what I would do or think. I blinked back tears for the girl and said, "Let's go to my precinct and see if we can sort this out," trying to soothe her, but not get her hopes up. It didn't work. She just looked more upset and nervous.

"You don't think it's you…" She said, sounding defeated.

"I do, You look exactly like I did when I was your age, but I just need to be absolutely sure" That made Jessie relax a little, and she agreed to get into my car and drive with me to the 12th so we could figure this out.

On the way there I wondered about what this would do to my reputation. I hadn't told anyone about Jessie, mainly because it's not really something I talk about, but also because I didn't think it would ever come up like this.

Castle would have a field day, finding out there was more Nikki Heat in me than he thought. He might be a little mad at me at first for not telling him, but he would get over it.

When we got to the precinct I took Jessie to a break room and told her to wait there. Then I went to talk to Captain Montgomery about this situation.


	3. Chapter 3

I was sitting in a little break room in the 12th precinct, watching Detective Beckett talk to Richard Castle. I recognized him from the back cover of his book. I knew he wrote Nikki Heat biased on a real detective, but I had no idea that detective was my mom. She had driven me to the precinct, told me to stay in this little room, and said she had to talk to some people. That was an hour and a half ago.

She had first gone into an office around the corner, so I couldn't tell who was in there. When she came out about 45 minutes later, she went over to two men who were sitting at computers. One had light brown hair and was wearing a suit, but it wasn't one of those really fancy ones like lawyers or bankers usually wear. The other one was Mexican and was wearing jeans and a nice shirt. She talked to them for maybe 15 minutes, and then they went back to their computers as if with a new purpose.

Detective Beckett had then gone over to Richard Castle and had been talking to him for the past half hour. They seemed to be waiting for something, and every once in a while they would look in my direction. They were probably trying to figure out what to do with me, and I wished I could read lips.

Just then the two men Detective Beckett had been talking to earlier got up and crossed the room to get to her. They talked for a few minutes, and while they were, Detective Beckett kept looking over at me.

When she walked toward the room I was in, I put my feet on the floor so my cowboy boots were no longer on the table and sat up straighter, because I had been slouching.

"What's going to happen to me? Where am I going to go?" I asked as soon as she came in.

"I'm so sorry," she said "I didn't expect that to take so long. You are going to stay here today - in the precinct, not this room - and help us with your adoptive mother's case, and then you are going to go home with me tonight."

"Not that I don't want to," I said, trying not to hurt her feelings, "but why?"

"I had you when I was 17. It was really hard for me to give you up, but I couldn't take care of you. I couldn't give you what you deserved." Tears welled up in her eyes. "12 years ago, my mother was murdered. That made me realize how much I needed her, and how much you probably needed me, but I couldn't get you back. I already lost you once, and I'm not going to lose you again." A tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it off. I got up and hugged her, mostly because she looked like she really needed a hug, but also because it meant a lot to me that someone was willing to fight to keep me.

I'd spent the first nine years of my life in and out of foster homes. Someone finally adopted me, and five years later, she died. I haven't exactly had the most stable childhood. And now someone is finally willing to fight for me.

"Thank you." was all I could think to say.

"There's just one thing," She said softly. "We have to take a DNA test, just to be certain."

"Ok," I said, "But I'm already certain."

"Me too, sweetie," she whispered. "Me too."

_**I never could have imagined how much reviews would make me want to write more. *hint hint* Comments? Suggestions? Concerns? Criticisms? I'm all ears. (Well, not technically, I can't hear what you're saying, but I can read it. 'I'm all eyes' just sounds weird.)**_


	4. Chapter 4

It was about an hour after we'd taken our DNA tests, (they would be ready tomorrow) and Jessie was sitting in my chair, talking to Castle. It was funny when they first met; she was star struck.

"You're Jessie?" He'd asked her. She just stared at him with big eyes. I nudged her and she'd stammered

"Y-yes."

"I'm guessing you're a fan of mine?" Castle asked, his ego showing. She might've just been shy. She nodded.

"Wait, you haven't read Nikki Heat, have you?" She just nodded again.

"Really?" He looked at me and then back to Jessie and said, "Even the sex scene?"

"Castle." I said in a hoarse whisper, trying to get him to stop. He just looked at me again.

"But I don't even let Alexis read that part. And she's two years older!" He almost yelled. At this, Jessie looked almost scared.

"I'm sorry… I…" She didn't seem to know why she was sorry; she just wanted Castle to stop freaking out.

But now they were talking about music as if they had been friends forever.

"Brad Paisley is the best," Jessie was saying, spinning the chair halfway around and back again. "He's so good at playing the guitar, it's un-human."

"Country?" Castle asked her, "I should've guessed from the boots, but nothing country is the best."

"What's wrong with country?" She asked, "Have you ever actually tried to listen to it?"

Castle looked down and said, "No, not really" Jessie smiled and pulled out her iPod. She looked over at me, smiled slyly, and pressed play. Immediately I realized why she had smiled at me like that. She was playing 'Mr. Policeman'. Once Castle heard what the song was saying, he looked up at me and smiled. Jessie saw that, and she smiled again too.

"See?" She said "I _told_ you Brad was awesome. He's a very clever songwriter too." Castle just nodded, still listening to the words. When the song was over, he looked up at Jessie and said,

"Does he have any other good songs?" Jessie rolled her eyes.

"All his songs are good," She said, "But I think you'll like this one." She touched the iPod again, and 'Come on over Tonight' started to play. It was amazing how Jessie had known Castle for less than an hour, and yet she knew exactly what songs to play to make him like Brad Paisley. I walked over and stood behind Jessie. When the song was over I said,

"You know, I think he would like 'Alcohol'." Jessie stared at me, shocked. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly open. I smiled and said, "What? I like Brad too."

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_**I know you wanted it to be longer, and I know that this isn't but I promise I'll update tomorrow and it WILL be longer. If you haven't noticed, i have a small (HA) obsession with Brad Paisley. And if you havn't heard the songs I mentioned, look them up because they are really good and i think Castle would like them.**_


	5. Chapter 5

"I hate to break up CMT," Detective Beckett said, "But we really do need to work on this case." My heart sank. I had almost forgotten about the case; almost forgotten about my adoptive mother's death. Something of my thoughts must've shown on my face because she added quickly, "But you can leave Bread on shuffle if you want to." I looked up and tried to smile.

"Ok," I sighed, "How can I help?" Detective Beckett sat on her desk right next to me.

"When did you last see…" she turned to look at the white board. "Christina Reynolds?"

"This morning before school." I answered, "I think I left around 7:20, maybe a little after." She made a note.

"Do you know what she was doing in Washington Heights?" I shook my head.

"No, she didn't say what she was going to do today, but she rarely did, so that wasn't unusual.

"Did she seem more nervous, distracted, or off lately?" I thought for a minute and then said,

"Now that you mention it, she was snapping at me for the weirdest things lately. Like the other day, she was going to take my friend and me to school, and my friend was at the bus stop instead of her house and Christina yelled at me for not telling her my friend would be at the bus stop. First of all, I didn't know that, and second, why does it matter? If anything, she was saving gas because she didn't have to drive as far." Detective Beckett made another note, as Richard Castle said to her

"Maybe she saw her killer and was worried about them trying to hurt her daughter's friend." Detective Beckett rolled her eyes.

"Or maybe she was just being protective of her daughter's friends" She said.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Richard Castle asked. Detective Beckett ignored him and got up to put the time I left for school on the white board.

"Castle, why don't you show your new best friend around the precinct?" she said. Castle jumped up so fast, his chair skidded back a foot.

"Ok!" He said excitedly. He pointed to the white board Detective Beckett was writing on. "That's the murder board Beckett never lets me write on." He turned and pointed to the chair he had been sitting in. "This is my usual chair." He motioned with his arm for me to go ahead of him out of the room. "After you, m'lady" He said in a fancy voice. I raised my eyebrow

"Why do you want me to go first?" I asked, "I don't know where I'm going. That's why _you're_ the tour guide." Detective Beckett smiled at that.

"Oh, right. Duh." Castle said, leading the way out of the room.

He first led me into the break room I had been waiting in earlier. On two opposite walls were doors, one wall had two tables, and on the other wall was a table with a fancy looking coffee maker on it. Castle went over to the coffee maker and put his hand on the top of it.

"When I first came here," he started, "I had some of their coffee. It tasted like monkey pee in battery acid." I smiled at the way he described it and the look of disgust on his face. "So I bought this." He continued, "The best espresso machine there is."

"Not that you're tooting your own horn or anything." I teased.

"No," he said, "I'm tooting the Espresso Intenso's horn. Anyway, this is one of the break rooms." He said, motioning around the room. He pointed to the vending machine in the corner. "And that's a vending machine" he said.

"Really?" I asked, "I did not know that." I said sarcastically. He lead me out of the room and into a small room with 3 walls that were white with small black rectangles, and one wall with a big mirror on it.

"This is one of the three Interrogation Rooms." Castle said. He pointed to the mirror. "That's a two-way mirror." He paused to look around the room. "I made an 18 year old confess to murder in here once…" I laughed. He made everything about himself, didn't he? He led me next door and said,

"This is the Observation Room. See there?" he pointed toward the Interrogation Room on the other side of a window. "That's the other side of the two–way mirror." As he turned to leave, I said,

"What? No story about some heroic thing you did in here?" He looked at me

"That sounds like something Beckett would say… but no, nothing happens in here. We just watch what happens in there." He said, pointing to the Interrogation Room.

He led me down a hallway and into another room. It had shelves of boxes everywhere, and in the middle of the room was a desk with a very old looking computer sitting on it.

"This is the storage room." Castle said. "My daughter, Alexis, volunteered here one day and organized it." He said proudly.

_Of course_, I thought _even the storage room is about him._

_

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_

_**Ok, so do you wonderful readers and reviewers think **_

_**A) I should make the chapters longer by making the Jessie or Beckett point of views longer,**_

_**B) I should make the chapters longer by combining a Jessie and Beckett chapter, or**_

_**C) I don't care how you do it, just freaking make the chapters longer or I might shoot myself in the foot!**_

_**Please, I want you opinions. And for you not to shoot yourselves in the foot. Just pick a letter, it won't take long, and you know you want to. You know you do, don't lie to yourself. It's easy. Just click the little review button down here. **_


	6. Chapter 6

**Beckett**

I sent Castle away to show Jessie the precinct so he would forget about his theories and stop scaring Jessie even more than she already was. I knew from personal experience how scary loosing someone could be, and Jessie defiantly didn't need Castle making it worse. They left and I sighed, turning back to face the murder board. Christina Reynolds had died between 12:00 and 2:30 p.m. this afternoon. Jessie had last seen her around 7:20 a.m. Where had she gone in between then? I'd already talked to her work, and she hadn't been there this morning, so where was she?

Just then my cell phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my pocket to see that I had a text message from Josh.

_Crap,_ I thought. _How_ _am I supposed to tell him about Jessie?_ I hadn't even thought about what Josh would think. Would he even want a kid? I pushed **view now**

**Want 2 get together 2nite?**

What should I say to that? I would have Jessie with me. What would _she_ think of Josh? She had to meet him eventually. I pushed **reply** and typed

**My place 9?**

I hit **send**. He replied almost immediately.

**Ok.**

A butterfly flew in my stomach. How would they get along? Jessie got along with Castle great, but Josh isn't Castle. _He's more mature than Castle, but I don't know if he wants kids._ I stared at the murder board for a while, not really seeing it. When Castle and Jessie came back, I did my best to act normal.

"How was your tour?" I asked Jessie.

"It was more of a tour of things Castle has done since he's been here, but I think I know my way around now." I smiled. It was just like Castle to make a tour all about him.

"Hey, did Christina have a boyfriend?" I asked, just now realizing I forgot to ask her earlier. She shook her head.

"Not that I know of at least."

I decided to tell her about our plans for tonight.

"Do you want to meet my boyfriend, Josh, tonight?" she looked from me to Castle and back, confused.

"Your mean you're not…"

"No." I said. Why does everyone think that? "We're not together."

"Yet." Castle breathed, making Jessie laugh.

Ryan and Esposito came back then from talking to one of Christina's co-workers.

"Yo," Esposito said as he was walking in, "Co-worker said the vic-" he stopped, noticing Jessie in my chair. "Oh, hey." He said to her, "I'm Javier Esposito. But they-" he motioned to Castle, Beckett, and Ryan "-Just call me Esposito." Jessie smiled.

"That sounds like burrito." She said

"Thanks…?" Esposito said. Jessie looked at Ryan.

"Oh," Ryan said quickly, realizing who Jessie was staring at him. "I'm Kevin Ryan. Just call me Ryan."

"Ok, Ryan." She pointed, and then looked at Esposito. "Esposito. Got it."

"What were you saying about the vic, burrito?" I asked, making both Jessie and Esposito laugh.

"She hasn't been to work all week, even though she was scheduled to work every day." I looked at Jessie to see her reaction, and she looked just as confused as everyone else.

* * *

**Jessie **

That night at about 8:00 I was playing Farm Frenzy on my iPod, and Detective Beckett was doing something on her computer. Castle had gone home around 6, saying something about wanting to talk to his daughter, so I had taken his seat. Detective Beckett sighed, stood up, and looked at me. "Ready to go?" She asked. I got up and put my iPod in my pocket.

"Sure." I said, feeling nervous. I dont like meeting new people, and I had already met five (Detective Beckett, Castle, Esposito, Ryan, and Captain Montgomery) today. I wasn't sure how I would get along with Detective Beckett's boyfriend.

When we got in the car Detective Beckett glanced sideways at me, then changed the radio station to play country. As I started to sing along (It was American Soldier by Toby Keith) Detective Beckett glanced at me again and said, "Don't most people your age like pop, or rock, or… Justin Bieber, or something? Why do you like country?"

"One of my foster families lived on a farm. Country was the only thing they listened to, and I loved it. Now it's the only thing _I_ listen to… willingly." I thought for a minute. "And the Backstreet Boys and Aaron Carter, but that's because one of the foster children I lived with when I was like 3 'till I was like 7 was really obsessed with them." She laughed.

"Most people you're age have never even heard of the Backstreet Boys." She said.

"Oh, believe me, I know" I laughed. We were quiet after that, and when we got to Detective Beckett's apartment she opened the door and checked her watch.

"Josh should be here in about half an hour." She said. She looked worried. "Maybe you should wait in my room while I talk to him…"

"You didn't tell him about me, did you?" I asked, half smiling. She shook her head.

"I wasn't expecting this" She said

"I know," I whispered. "Neither was I." She looked around the room.

"It's only a one bedroom apartment, but you can sleep on the sofa bed tonight."

"Sleepin' on the foldout" I said.

"Thanks to me and my big mouth." Detective Beckett said, catching on.

"Why did I do what I did?" I laughed. "Great song."

"It is." Detective Beckett said, walking over to a doorway. "This is my bedroom." She said

There was a knock at the door, and she checked her watch. "He's early." she said.

"Should I…" I asked, pointing toward her bedroom.

"Yeah." She replied as there was another knock at the door. "Be right there!" she yelled, and then turned to me "I'll come get you or something once I've told him." I nodded and went into her room as she went to go get the door. I sat down on her bed and heard the door open. "Hey, Josh." I heard Detective Beckett say.

"Hey babe." Josh said. I could hear a smile in his voice

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, babe, what's wrong?" He asked, her tone worrying him.

"I have to tell you something" She said.

"What is it?" Josh asked, still worrying.

"Today I was working a case where a mother was murdered." She said

"Yeah?" he said, sounding confused

"I went to talk to the daughter and she told me she was adopted."

"The daughter?" Josh asked. Detective Beckett must've nodded because she said

"I asked her if she knew who her real mother was and she said that I was her mother." There was a pause and then Detective Beckett continued. "I had her when I was 17, and I gave her up for adoption." After a minute, Josh spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He said, sounding more disappointed then angry.

"I don't know." Detective Beckett said, "It's not something I talk about, and I didn't expect it to come up like this." She paused again. "Do you want to meet her?"

"Now?" He asked, "Is she here?"

"She's in my room." Detective Beckett said. "Jessie? Come meet Josh!" She called.

I got off the bed and nervously went out into the living room.

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_**Well, it's longer. :) I wouldn't want any of you to shoot yourselves in the foot. The only thing that would accomplish would be pain and a hole in your foot (though that might be kind of cool…). It might take me a little longer to update because the chapters are longer. I'll update as often as possible, however the next chapter is being difficult at the moment. I'll keep trying. As always, reviews are welcome. **__**you know you want to tell me what you thought.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Beckett**

Jessie came out of my room slowly. She looked around, saw Josh and me sitting on the couch, and walked over to sit on the chair next to it.

"Jessie, this is Josh. Josh, this is Jessie." I said, pointing to them as I said their name.

"You look just like Kate." Josh said, smiling. Jessie smiled back nervously, looking at me for help.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" Josh asked her in a very happy tone.

"Shoot things." Jessie said, her voice and face so even it was hard to tell if she was joking or not.

"Really?" Josh said, sounding very interested.

"No." Jessie said, obviously annoyed. This was not going as well as I'd hoped. "I've never actually held a gun. She shoots things though." She said, pointing at me.

"She does." Josh said. "It kind of scares me." Jessie rolled her eyes.

"That she has a gun, or that she knows how to shoot you with it?" Jessie asked.

"Both." They were silent for a while. I tried to think of something to say, but couldn't. I could tell Josh couldn't either. (I don't think Jessie was trying) Jessie was nervously playing with her hair. Josh started to say something, but then his pager beeped. He jumped slightly, glanced at it, and then looked at me apologetically. "I have to go…" He said.

Of course he has to go. He_ always_ has to go. It doesn't matter if he's in Haiti, Africa, or just the hospital, he's never with me.

"Yeah." I said. We stood up and Jessie followed suit. Josh hugged me, kissed my forehead, and then turned to Jessie. He held his arms up for a hug, and she just glared at him. Oblivious, he walked over and gave her a hug and she stiffened.

"It was great meeting you, Jess." He said

"Jessie." She said, irritated. I walked Josh to the door.

"Thank you." He said when we got there.

"For what?" I asked

"For telling me about your daughter." He said. "And for letting me meet her. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer." He started to walk away.

"See you!" I called after him.

_That,_ I thought, _could've gone a whole lot better._

_

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_

**Jessie**

I don't like hugs. Josh looked at me with his arms open and waiting for a hug. I didn't want to give him a hug, so I just stood there. But does he care? No. He just comes over and gives me a hug anyway. I looked at Detective Beckett mid-hug, and she smiled at me apologetically. Josh finally let me go, saying how nice it was to meet me.

I don't like overly happy people. Josh is one of the happiest people I've ever met. Guns apparently scare him, and I've wanted a gun for a while, or at least to know how to use one (Other than just pull the trigger).

In conclusion-Josh annoys me.

Detective Beckett came back into the living room. "What do you think of Josh?" she asked.

""He's very…" I paused, trying not to offend her "Happy." I said, and she nodded.

"I know. He's like that all the time."

"It's annoying." I said

""You don't like him" she stated. It wasn't a question. I shook my head.

"Sorry."

"It's all right." She said, "Maybe he'll grow on you."

"Maybe" I said, knowing he wouldn't. Detective Beckett looked at her watch.

"It's almost 10." She said "I have to get up early tomorrow to go to work."

"On Saturday?"

"On Saturday." She confirmed, walking toward a door. She opened it revealing a closet with linins in it. She picked one from the top and started taking the cushions off the couch. I went to help, and soon we had the fold out sofa bed made and ready to sleep in. I put on a pair of Detective Beckett's sweatpants (my clothes were still at Christina's house) and climbed onto the sofa bed. As she was walking into her room, I said

"Detective Beckett?"

"Please." She said. "Just call me Beckett"

"Beckett?" I tried again

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For everything you've done for me."

"No problem." She said, and disappeared into her room.

In the middle of the night, I was jolted out of a dream by someone shaking me awake. It took me a minute to remember where I was, but then I did remember.

Beckett was sitting next to me on the sofa bed. It was her who had shook me awake.

"Are you ok?" she asked

"Yeah," I said, confused, "Why?"

"You were thrashing around a lot." She said, looking nervous, "And then you started screaming."

"I-I was screaming?" I asked, trying to remember the dream I'd been having. All that I could remember was being terrified.

"Yeah, you were." Beckett said, looking at me worriedly. "I thought you were in trouble."

"I was having a dream…" I said, "But I don't remember it at all. I'm sorry I woke you up." I said, feeling weak and guilty.

"Hey, it's not your fault." She said, "Come on, you can sleep in my bed with me. It's a king, it's big enough." I agreed, got up, and went with Beckett to her bed. It felt safer there, and I don't think it had anything to do with the gun on Beckett's bedside table I fell asleep quickly.

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_**First off, I'm not an overly happy person. Writing Josh was VERY hard for me. I know the first part sucks, but i hope it doesn't suck too badly. As always, pleese review! They make my sucky day a liitle brighter! **_


	8. Chapter 8

**Beckett**

I woke up to find that I was lying on my stomach and Jessie was using my back as a pillow. I reached down with my hand and shook her slightly so she would wake up. She groaned, mumbled "Oh, sorry." and moved so that her head was back on her pillow. I looked at the clock on my bedside table and it informed me that it was 6:27. My alarm would go off in three minutes, but I had an internal alarm that for some reason always woke me up around 6:30.

"Do you want to go to the 12th with me, or do you want to stay here today?" I asked Jessie.

"Wanna sleep." She mumbled.

"Ok." I said, "You can call me if you need anything, or if you want to come later. You don't have to come if you don't want to though." I got out of bed and went to my dresser.

"I still don't have clothes." Jessie said, acting more awake now.

"How about you call me when you get up, and I'll see if I can leave work to come get you so we can pick up some of your stuff." I said, "I'm off tomorrow, so we can get more tomorrow."

"I'm actually surprisingly awake now, so would it be easier to just go now?" she asked. She looked exhausted, but for whatever reason (probably the nightmares) she didn't want to go back to sleep, so I agreed to take her to Christina's after we got ready.

Last night I woke up at about 2 am and heard noises coming from the living room. I got up to see what it was, but couldn't stop thinking about when the serial killer, Scott Dunn, had gotten into my last apartment and was able to blow it up. Then I heard screaming and, forgetting the gun on the bedside table for protection, ran to the living room only to see Jessie screaming and thrashing around on the sofa bed, obviously having a nightmare. Relief spreading through me, (is it ok for me to be relieved my daughter was screaming in her sleep?) I walked over to wake her up.

"Jessie, do you like cereal?" I called, looking into the pantry and realizing I had absolutely no other breakfast foods.

"Not really" Jessie called back

"I don't usually have breakfast here." I said. "Do you wanna just go get donuts from the bakery?"

"Sure." Jessie said, coming into the kitchen halfway through braiding one pigtail "Can we get glazed?"

"If that's what you want." I said, smiling. She was still in my sweatpants and yesterday's t-shirt, but she didn't have any clothes to change into, so we went down to my car.

When we got to Christina's I put the car in park and unbuckled my seatbelt, but Jessie just sat there, staring at the house.

"You ok?" I asked. She looked at me and I saw a hint of sadness before it was gone, and she said,

"What? No, yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" I asked, knowing she probably wouldn't tell me the truth.

"Yeah." She said, getting out of the car. I followed her up to the front door. She hesitated just slightly before opening it.

From the entryway, you could either go to the right and down a hallway, or to the right and up the stairs. As soon as the door was open, Jessie ran up the stairs and I ran after her.

* * *

**Jessie**

I opened the door and, not giving myself time to think about how this was Christina's house, and how she would never be coming back to it, I ran up the stairs as fast as I could. I could hear Beckett following close behind. When I got to my room (well, my old room) I realized I didn't know what I was supposed to be getting. I turned around.

"What am I getting?" I asked Beckett

"Clothes." She said, "We can come back tomorrow and get your _stuff_ stuff."

"Ok. I'm going to change first." I said, walking over to my dresser and getting clothes. I went across the hall to the bathroom and when I came back, Beckett was looking at the pictures on my cork board.

"Those are my friends." I explained, "Dawn," I pointed, "Jordyn, and Carter."

"You all look so happy" she said, smiling.

"Yeah…" I smiled too, remembering. "We went to the zoo that day. And then we went and played laser tag."

Beckett smiled. "Sounds fun" she said. "You know, Castle has top-of-the-line laser tag at his house."

"Seriously? That would be so. Cool."

"Yeah, he opened the door and shot me one time… I wasn't even playing. I think he thinks it's a real gun" she laughed. "Clothes?"

"Right." I said. I get a suitcase and started shoving clothes into it. When I was done, I stood up and Beckett said,

"All set?" I nodded.

"Yep." We went back down the stairs and to her car. We were sitting at a spotlight when I realized she was staring at me.

"What?" I asked, shifting nervously. Being stared at makes me uneasy.

"You're sure you're ok?" she asked. A horn honked behind us because the light had turned green, and Beckett put her eyes back on the road as we drove on.

I'm not one to talk about what I'm feeling, especially to someone I just met (or re-met) yesterday. I was fine most of the time, when I wasn't thinking about it, but when I did think about it (mostly at night, when I couldn't stop myself) was when I wasn't ok. That was when the nightmares came. I had wanted to go with Beckett this morning instead of sleeping, which I really needed to do, just so I would stop thinking about it. But I wouldn't admit any of this to her.

"Yeah," I said, unconvincingly, "I'm fine." I could tell she didn't believe me, but she dropped the subject and we were silent for the rest of the drive.

When Castle came in at 10:00, Beckett was in the Interrogation Room, and I was sitting in Castle's chair, staring at the murder board, lost in thought.

"Hey Mini-Beckett," Castle said cheerfully, "Where's big Beckett?" I looked over at him.

"She's in the Interrogation Room." I said. I didn't want to watch her. I didn't want to see the person she was interrogating. The person who may have killed Christina.

"Cool." Castle said, "Which one?"

"Don't know" I shrugged. He started to walk away, but stopped and said,

"Alexis says she wants to meet you."

"She does?" I asked, confused, "You told her about me?"

"Well, yeah," he said "I may have gone a little crazy talking about how teen pregnancy was bad, and how she shouldn't have sex, and she wondered where it had come from."

I hated when people said stuff like that. They didn't even stop to think about how I would feel if they went all 'teen pregnancy is horrible' and 'never get pregnant as a teen'. No one stops to think how the children of teen moms feel. Castle must've realized what he'd said because then he said,

"Oh, no I didn't mean it like that, I-"

"No," I said getting up, "It's fine." I walked over to the bathroom and didn't come out for what seemed like ages.

* * *

_**Well? What do you think? I kinda like it. Feel free to comment whatever you want. I welcome criticism. It makes me a better writer. (Unless you just say it's awful and don't tell me why you think that. Then I can't improve because you didn't tell me what I need to improve on.)**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Beckett**

I wasn't surprised to see Castle sitting in his usual seat when I came out of the Interrogation Room, but I _was_ surprised that Jessie wasn't there.

"Where's Jessie?" I asked him

"I think she's in the bathroom." He said guiltily. "I…I may have offended her."

"Castle," I said, exasperated, "what did you say to her?"

"I don't know!" he said quickly, "I said…" he stopped

"Answer me Castle. I can't make her feel better if I don't know why she's upset, and she doesn't tell me if she's upset, so if I went in there, she would act like she's fine, even if she's not." Why did my daughter have to be so much like me?

"Ok." Castle said "I may have said how I told Alexis teen pregnancy was bad, and I think it made Jessie feel like she wasn't wanted."

"Castle, you can't say something like to the daughter of someone who was teen mom!"

"Yeah, I realize that, now!" He said, and I went to the bathroom to see if I could make Jessie feel better.

"Jessie?" I called, opening the door and walking in, "Are you in here?"

"No." was Jessie's answer from the nearest stall.

"Castle told me what happened." I said, standing in front of the stall door. Jessie was silent. "It makes me mad too, you know." I admitted "People just don't think before they speak; especially Castle."

"I know." Jessie said angrily.

"Are you going to come out?" She didn't answer, but I heard the stall door unlock and Jessie emerged. I'd expected her to look like she'd been crying, but she didn't. She almost knocked me over giving me an unexpected hug.

"Are you still mad at Castle?" I asked. She stepped back and studied my face for a moment.

"Are you?" she asked, making me laugh.

"A little." I said

"Me too."

"Wanna go back out there anyway?" I asked

"Sure." She said, and we walked together out of the bathroom

* * *

**Jessie**

It was about an hour after Beckett had convinced me to come out of the bathroom, and she was refilling her coffee cup in the break room. Castle was in his chair, and I was in Beckett's. I looked over at Castle and noticed he was staring at something, so I followed his gaze to see what it was. He was staring at Beckett's butt. I smiled to myself and took out my iPod. I searched through the songs until I found the one I wanted. I fast forwarded a little, hit play, and put the iPod right next to Castle's ear. He jumped, listened to the song for a second, and then burst out laughing.

_"It's so hard not to stare and that honky tonk badonkadonk. Keepin' perfect rhythm, make you wanna swing along, got it goin' on like Donkey Kong."_ Trace Adkins sang out of my iPod.

"Is that really a song about butts?" Castle asked. "I love it!" I laughed at his reaction. He was so excited. "It doesn't, uh, it doesn't happen to have a music video, does it?"

"It does." I said. Castle almost tripped in his hurry to get around the desk and to the computer. I laughed at how excited he was to see the music video. He's such a little kid. He went to YouTube and then stopped.

"What's the song called?" He asked

"Honky Tonk Badonkadonk." I said, and he smiled. He typed it in and clicked the first one that came up. We both just stared at the computer when it started.

"Castle, what are you showing my daughter?" Beckett had snuck up behind us, and when she spoke halfway through the song, we both jumped about a foot in the air. Castle put his hands up in surrender

"Hey, your daughter showed me this, I didn't show her!" He said.

"What?" I asked, "I showed you the _song_. You're the one who was all excited about seeing the music video." Beckett rolled her eyes.

"Remind me to never leave the two of you alone ever again. You're bad influences on each other." She said. She turned to look at the murder board and Castle and I grinned at each other behind her.

"It was nice while it lasted." Castle mumbled. Beckett turned to glare at him.

Just then Ryan and Esposito came in looking urgent.

"Yo," Ryan said, but then he stopped, looking at me "Can I talk to you?" he asked Beckett. I frowned.

"What don't you and me to know?" I asked

"Dude," Esposito said to Ryan, "She's going to find out anyway"

"How?" Ryan asked

"Because Castle is going to know, and he'll tell Jessie." Beckett said, looking at Castle disapprovingly.

"Hey, wait; don't you have any faith in me?" Castle asked

"No." she replied, "If Jessie's determined to find out from you, she will."

"That is true." I said, "I'm too stubborn to give up easily"

"Like mother like daughter." Esposito said

"Well, Jackson's alibi doesn't check, _and _the detail on him just called and said he left work early." Ryan informed us.

"Lets go" Beckett said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" I said as Castle stood up, "I don't want to stay here alone!" Beckett stopped.

"Castle will stay with you." She said.

"What? No I won't!" Castle exclaimed.

"I thought we weren't supposed to be alone together anymore." I said

"Ok then," Beckett said, thinking, "You can stay with Captain Montgomery."

"What? No, he's no fun!" I pouted

"Fine," Beckett said, obviously wanting to leave "You can come with us, but you _will not_ go inside." I nodded and we all hurried to the cars.

No one spoke the whole way, but I could almost feel the anxiety radiating off Beckett. When we got to an apartment building, Beckett stopped the car and turned to Castle in the passenger seat.

"Stay. Here." She said sternly. "Make sure Jessie says too." Then she turned to me and said, "You stay here too. Make sure Castle stays." And then she left.

"Glad she has so much faith in us." I said

"Well can you blame her?" Castle asked getting out of the car. I opened my door so he could hear me and said,

"But she said we had to-" But he wasn't listening. He had already got his bullet proof vest on and had started walking toward the door of the building. I ran after him.

"Castle!" I said, grabbing his arm, "Beckett said no!" He just kept walking, pulling me along with him. "Castle, we can't!" I tried again to no effect. He pushed the 'up' button on the elevator and stepped on. Not wanting to be left alone in the lobby, I followed him.

"Castle, we have to go back down!" I said.

"Shh!" he said, putting his finger to his lips "we don't want then to hear us coming."

When the doors opened, I grabbed his wrist with one hand and the rail in the elevator with the other, trying to prevent him from getting off the elevator. He pulled for a moment before realizing that that wasn't going to work. He then pried my fingers off the rail with some difficulty, picked me up by waist so I couldn't grab onto anything else, and carried me off the elevator. I kicked his shin as hard as I could and he dropped me, hopping on one foot.

"You really are just as stubborn as your mother." He said as Beckett came around the corner with a guy I had never seen before in handcuffs in front of her.

"Castle, what are you doing?" Beckett asked as Ryan and Esposito rounded the corner. Castle was still hopping on one foot.

"She kicked me!" He said, pointing at me

"He wasn't listening!" I said defensively.

"Ryan, Esposito, Take him downtown while I talk to my children." Beckett said, giving the man in handcuffs to Esposito and turning to face Castle and me.

* * *

_**I know Beckett's part is super short, but I made Jessie's part longer than normal to make up for it. Like always, PLEASE COMMENT! K thanks.**_


	10. Chapter 10

****

Beckett

"Busted" Esposito whispered to Castle with a smile as he was leading Jackson onto the elevator.

"Ok." I said once they were gone, "What happened?" They both started talking at once, so that I could only hear tidbits of what they were saying. "Whoa, whoa," I said, holding my hand out to signal for them to stop, "One at a time. Jessie?"

"As soon as you left he got out of the car and you told me to make him stay so I followed him to try and make him come back but he wouldn't listen and go back to the car so I tried to make him stay on the elevator but he picked me up so I kicked him." She said all of this very fast.

"Is that what happened Castle?" I asked, turning to face him

"Yeah, but I just wanted to see what was going on with Jackson up here. What did I miss?" He had stopped hopping and was now standing on one foot with his hand on the wall to hold himself upright.

"He pointed a gun at us, and then we got him to confess, but that's not the point" I said, "How hard did she kick you?"

"_Very_ hard for how little she is." He said, "I had no idea it was even possible to kick that hard!"

"Wimp." Jessie muttered. "But I think the boots helped." She showed Castle the heel on them and I rolled my eyes, walking toward the elevator.

"Come on guys." I said, "You can walk, can't you Castle? The little girl didn't hurt you too bad, did she?" I mocked

"Very funny. I can walk." He said, limping over to the elevator. I saw Jessie smirking behind him.

"I can't believe you made me miss a confession." He said to her.

"I can't believe you still tried to go after you tried to pull my arms off." Jessie countered. I smiled to myself. It was funny how they were bickering just like brother and sister.

"I can't believe you kicked me."

"I can't believe it hurt you so much." Jessie replied immediately. They continued like that halfway to the precinct; until Castle ran out of things he couldn't believe she'd done.

"I can't believe… oh, I know there are more things, but I just can't think of them!"

"Yes!" Jessie said, "I win!"

"I didn't know it was a competition." I said

"It was." They both said at the same time.

"Dude, what's wrong with your leg?" Ryan asked. We were back at the precinct and I was doing paperwork. Ryan and Esposito were supposed to be doing paperwork too, but they weren't. Castle had just gotten back from the bathroom.

"He was crippled by a 14-year-old-girl." I said and Ryan looked at Jessie.

"What did you do?" he asked, not even bothering to confirm it was her that did it.

"He wasn't listening, so I kicked him." She said simply.

"Don't mess with her." Castle said knowingly, "She kicks _hard_." Jessie smiled.

"I prefer to hit, but you were holding me so that my hands couldn't reach you." She said

"Beckett, I think your daughter is threatening me." Castle said, almost whining.

"You deserve it." I said, looking up from the papers on my desk, "Maybe that kick will teach you to listen to me." He thought about that for a minute.

"Probably not." He finally answered.

"Then I give her permission to do it again if she needs to." I said. That was clearly not what Castle wanted me to say. He turned back to Jessie and said,

"Exactly how hard do you hit?"

"My friend once had a bruise for three days." She said plainly, and then continued, "It was in the shape of my hand though, it was so cool!" The look on Castle's face was priceless. It was a mixture of fear and amazement that such a small girl (she was only 5 feet tall and about a hundred pounds soaking wet) could hit so hard.

"Not the smartest thing to say in front of a bunch of cops, but why'd you hit your friend?" Castle asked

"She told me a TV show character I loved deserved to die." Jessie shrugged, trying to act as if it didn't bother her anymore. There was two beats of silence, and then she took a deep breath. "Why did Jackson kill Christina?" she asked Ryan, Esposito, and I looked at each other, not knowing what to tell her.

* * *

**Jessie**

I didn't like the look on their faces when they looked at each other.

"What?" I asked, wanting to know what had caused that look

"Jessie…" Beckett said sadly

"What?" I asked louder than before

"Jessie," Beckett said again, "He has delusions. Hallucinations." She paused, "He thought he was killing his wife." My heart broke a little inside me.

"So she died… for no reason? He thought he was killing someone else?" I looked at them, willing them to tell me it wasn't true. Nobody did. Castle and Beckett stood up at the same time. Beckett gave him a look that said "what are you doing?" and he sat back down. She came over and hugged me tightly, and only then did I realize how hard I was shaking.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Beckett and I were sitting on the couch in her apartment. At the precinct, Captain Montgomery had come by as I was shaking violently and Beckett was holding me tight, trying to comfort me. He told Beckett to leave and to get me home. I don't know why, but it didn't really hit me that Christina was dead until I knew why Jackson had killed her.

I had my feet up on the couch and had my arms wrapped around my legs. My chin was resting on my knees and I was just staring into space, not really thinking about anything.

I could tell Beckett was worried. She kept asking if she could get me anything to eat or drink, or if she could do anything for me. Her phone rang on the coffee table and my eyes darted to it and then away again. The caller ID said it was Castle. Beckett picked it up and answered it, her eyes only leaving my face for a fraction of a second.

"Beckett" She said, and I could hear Castle on the other end.

"How's Jessie?" he asked. Beckett got up and went into her room, but I could still hear her end of the conversation.

"She won't talk to me. She won't eat or drink anything. She just sits on the couch and stares at nothing." She sounded worried. There was a pause. "No, Castle, I don't-" her voice had changed for her orders (that Castle was obviously not listening to… again) pause "I'm fine you don't need-" pause "No , really, I'm fine." Longer pause. "Castle…" her voice had gone from stern to worried again "I'm really scared, Castle. I don't know what to do. I'm really worried about her" pause "Ok."

* * *

**_I love your reviews so much. Thank you. (And that's not somthing i saw very often) Reviews/questions/comments/concerns/suggestions/criticisms/general wonderings are always welcome! I hoped you enjoyed!_**


	11. Chapter 11

**Beckett**

Ten minutes after my phone call with Castle, I went back out to the living room to see if I could cheer Jessie up. I sat down and turned so that one leg was up on the couch and my whole body was turned toward Jessie, who hadn't moved since I left.

"Jessie," I started, not really knowing what to say, "I know how you feel. I do. You are wondering what you did do deserve this. You are wondering what Christina did to deserve this, and the truth is neither of you did anything to deserve it. Jackson is just a sociopath." I couldn't tell if Jessie was even listening. If she was, she didn't show it. There was a knock at the door. I crossed to open it and found Castle and Alexis standing there looking worried.

"That was quick." I commented.

"Yeah, well, we were nearby." Castle said, ushering Alexis into my apartment. He noticed Jessie sitting on the couch. "Has she moved?" I shook my head.

"No. We got home and she just walked over to the couch and sat down. She's been sitting like that ever since. She just sits and stares. I don't even know if she hears me when I'm talking." Alexis walked over to the couch and sat down next to Jessie.

"Hi, Jessie." She said softly. "My name is Alexis." She seemed unfazed by Jessie's lack of acknowledgement. "I'm Castle's daughter." She then started talking in a voice so quiet that I couldn't hear her, so I walked into the kitchen so I could still see them, but wasn't in the same room. Castle followed me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Castle…" I said in protest. He (like always) ignored me, and I was too tired and worried to fight it.

"She's going to be OK, Kate." He whispered.

"How can you be so sure?"

"She's exactly like you. And you turned out pretty ok."

"But what if-"

"Stop." He said, turning me to face him and putting one hand on each of my shoulders, "She will be fine." He pulled me into a hug, and this time I didn't fight it. I really needed that hug. (Not that I would admit that to him)

"Tell me," He said, letting me go, "Is this what you did when your mother died?"

"Well, I was in my bed, but-"

"So, yes. And you're fine now, aren't you?"

"Well, about that, most of the time, yeah, but about Jessie right now, I'm not fine, no."

"Jessie's going to be fine, Kate. She just needs time"

"I know. You're right. I just don't like seeing her suffer like this."

"Wait, did you say I'm right? Can I get that in writing?"

"Not the time, Castle."

"I know."

"Ok." Alexis said, loud enough for us to hear. She moved so she was sitting on the coffee table directly across from Jessie. Alexis put her hands on Jessie's shoulders, like Castle had just done to me, and shook her slightly. "Jessie, look at me." There was a moment's pause and hen Jessie did. "You're scaring everyone." Alexis continued, "You have to at least say something." A single tear rolled down Jessie's cheek and she shook her head. Alexis stood up, spotted Castle and me, and came over to us.

"I don't know how to make her less depressed." She said "I can't tell if she's even listening."

"I know." I said, "Thanks for trying anyway."

"Do you know of any of her friends that could make her feel better? I'm sure they know her better than we do, and they might be better at this than us." I hadn't thought of that.

"Good idea." I told Alexis, and walked over to take her vacated spot on the coffee table. "Jessie? Which one of your friends should I call to make you happier?" She looked up from staring at the floor.

"Dawn." She whispered, handing me her phone. I took it and searched through the contacts until I found Dawn's name.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Fifteen minutes after I hung up the phone with Dawn, there was another knock at the door. I opened it to find Dawn standing there holding an ice cream conein one hand, and a bowl with half the ice cream already gone in the other.

"Come on in." I said, stepping back to let her by. "She's on the couch." Dawn went over to Jessie and held out the ice cream cone for Jessie to take. Jessie just stared at her.

"Take the ice cream." She said, and when Jessie didn't listen, she handed the ice cream to Alexis (Jessie went back to staring at the floor) and sat down on the couch next to Jessie. "Are you going to just sit there, staring, and feeling sorry for yourself?' She asked, getting no response. "You know what?" Dawn stood up again. "I'm not going to let you. We're going to go do something. You're not allowed to sit here feeling sorry for yourself."

_Harsh,_ I thought, but it got Jessie's attention. Dawn noticed that and continued, "You're sitting here, doing nothing, and scaring everyone, and you need to stop it." She thought for I moment, and then said, "We're going to play laser tag. I think Zero Gravity is still open." Castle raised his hand.

"I have laser tag, and you don't have to pay eight bucks a game to use it." He said.

"Can we?" Dawn asked him

"Yes!" He said, excitedly jumping up. Dawn grabbed Jessie's hands and pulled her up. Jessie immediately sat back down.

"Jessie, get up." Dawn said, pulling her up again. "Stay." She told her once she was up. Jessie did not look excited to go play laser tag.

"Well," Castle said quietly to me as we were walking out of my apartment, "At least she's not acting like she's fine anymore."

"I think I liked that better than seeing her depressed like this." I whispered back, and he gave me a one-armed hug.

* * *

**_Yeah, Jessie doesn't get a chapter this time. I don't think any of you want to read about her complain about everything and be all depressed. And if you did, then too bad, you don't get to._**

_**Thanks to every single person who has commented on any of my chapters, I really appreciate it. **__**Questions? Comments? Concerns? Suggestions? Criticisms? General Wonderings? Tell me!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Beckett**

"Castle, why do you have five laser tag vests?" I asked, pulling one on, "Isn't it usually just you and Alexis that play?"

"Yeah, but when I was buying them, I thought Mother might want to play sometimes, and if Alexis has friends over, they can play too. Five just seemed like a good, even number to get."

"Five's an odd number." Jessie stated in the same dead voice she had been using since Dawn got her to talk.

"You know what I mean." Castle said to her.

We were all getting our laser tag vests on in Castle's living room, and Jessie seemed a little better than she had been.

'Ready to play?" Castle asked when everyone had gotten their vests on, "Every man, or woman-" He said, looking around and seeing that he was the only man there "-for themselves."

Jessie took a deep breath, and the said in her normal voice, "You're on."

"OK." Castle said, smiling, "First one to a hundred points wins. You get 10 points for hitting the chest or back, 5 for the shoulders or gun. Ready…" He looked around, "Go!" All four of us immediately shot him in the chest at the same time.

"Hey!" he said, "No fair ganging up!"

"We didn't plan that, Castle; you're just such a good target." I teased

"That and nobody wants you to win." Alexis added.

"True." I said, shooting her in the chest too, and then running toward the kitchen.

"Oh, it's on now." Alexis said, chasing after me as everyone else scattered.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

About half an hour later Alexis and Jessie both had 90 points, Dawn had 85, Castle had 80, and I had 95. Alexis and Jessie had teamed up to make sure I didn't win by shooting me every time I was trying to shoot someone else.

"Ha!" Jessie said, jumping out from behind one of the pillars, shooting Castle in the back, and winning the game.

"Aw!" he said, looking over his shoulder at his back as if he could see where she had shot.

"I win!" Jessie yelled, giving Alexis a high-five, and then reaching over the couch to give Dawn one too. It was so good to see her happy again, but it made me sad that I didn't know how to make my own daughter happier. I wished-not for the first time-that I had never given her away.

* * *

**Jessie**

Beckett's and Dawn's phones both rang at the same time.

"Freaky." Castle breathed

"Yeah." I nodded. Dawn hung up first.

"I have to go home." She said.

"Ok," I said as Castle led her to the door, "See ya." She waved and went out the door as Beckett hung up the phone.

"The DNA test says I'm your mom." She said and I rolled my eyes.

"We already knew that." I said, making her laugh.

"Time for dinner!" Castle said coming back over.

"Oh," Beckett said, "We should go th-"

"No." Castle interrupted. "You and Jessie are staying."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to-"

"You. Stay." He said, pointing at Beckett. She rolled her eyes. "I'm making tacos.

"I love tacos!" I said, "Please?"

"Alright we can stay." She laughed.

"Yes!" Castle and I said, high-fiving and making Beckett laugh again, shaking her head.

"Children."

"Well, I'm not _making_ tacos, but I'll get out the ingredients so you can make your own." Castle said, walking over and opening the refrigerator door. He got everything out and then turned to Beckett.

"Wine?" He asked her

"Oh, come on. You can't drink wine with tacos. Move." She pushed Castle out of the way and opened the refrigerator door again. "I'm making margaritas." Castle raised his eyebrows.

"And how is it that _you _know how to make margaritas?" He asked

"Really, Castle?" I asked, "_I_ know how to make margaritas." Beckett hit her head on a shelf in the refrigerator. She stood up rubbing the spot she'd hit and raised her eyebrows at me, clearly saying 'Excuse me?'

"I'm kidding!" I said quickly, "I swear, I'm kidding!"

"Not funny, Jessie."

"I thought it was funny." Castle mumbled

"Not helping, Castle."

"But it made him forget about how _you _know how to make them." Alexis said.

"Make your tacos." Beckett told us, turning back to the refrigerator and picking up the things she had dropped when she hit her head.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Halfway through dinner, Castle turned to Beckett and said thoughtfully, "You know, Lanie says you could take me in a drinking contest, but I don't think you can."

"Dad." Alexis said warningly

"Yeah?" Beckett said, ignoring Alexis, "I don't think so."

"Well in that case, I challenge you to a drinking contest."

"Dad."

"Challenge accepted." Castle got up and crossed to the refrigerator. How pulled out a 12-pack of Yuengling.

"Dad, this doesn't sound like a good idea."

"It'll be fine, honey." He said absently

"Famous last words" She muttered.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

About on hour later, there was a lot more giggling coming from Castle and Beckett, and an even more worried face on Alexis. Beckett had had seven beers and Castle had had six. Castle was obviously loosing. He had had less, and he was more drunk thank Beckett, even though she was smaller.

"I think I'm sleeping over." I whispered to Alexis, who nodded but continued to stare at the two drunks.

"Ka…Kate." Castle slurred, "Yurr preeeeety." This was followed by another fit of giggling from both of them. Castle tried to push his bottle to the side, but ended up knocking it off the table and onto the floor where it shattered. Alexis jumped up to clean up the broken glass.

"This is not going to end well." She said.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

In the end, Castle stood up and tried to walk around the counter and ended up falling after three steps, passed out.

"Do I win?" Beckett asked, picking her head up off the table.

"Honestly, I don't think either of you _win. _This was a horrible idea." Alexis said, leaning over her father.

"Bu-" hiccup, "But he pa-" hiccup "Passed out?"

"Yeah, Beckett. He passed out. And you look like you're about to do the same." I told her.

"Take her upstairs." Alexis said and then nodded toward her dad. "I don't think he's going to use his bed anytime soon. It's the last bedroom on the right." I nodded.

"Ok, Beckett, get up." I said, and helped her to stand. She put her arm around my shoulders and leaned on me the whole was up the stairs and down the hall to Castle's room. She collapsed on his bed and immediately started snoring. I shook my head and closed the door on my way out.

Back downstairs, Alexis was picking up all the bottles (eighteen in all) that our parents had drank.

"Hey," She said, "Can you help me get him at least to the carpet? I think it would be more comfortable than the kitchen floor."

"Yeah, sure." I said, and we both grabbed on of his hands and pulled him until he was on the carpet. Alexis went to get blankets for him and I took a pillow from the couch and put it under his head.

"They are going to hurt in the morning" I said as we were walking upstairs.

"Yeah they are." She replied, "I told them it was a bad idea, but they didn't listen."

* * *

**_yeah, I'm 14, so I've never had alcohol before. (Well, actually I had like two sips of champagne at my sister's wedding, but that doesn't really count) The only knowledge I really have about it is when my sister gets drunk (Which I think is more often then is healthy) and my friend Google. The point is, I'm sorry if I totally messed something up or if this isn't realistic._**

**_Reviews are very much appreciated. I learned this week that no reviews = no motivation to write. _**


	13. Chapter 13

**Jessie **

"Jessie." Alexis's voice sank through my dream, "Jessie, wake up."

"Hmmm?"

"Wake up." She shook me and the last remnants of unconsciousness wore off.

"Alexis, it's only nine" I complained

"I know, but my dad isn't on the floor downstairs anymore." I looked at her face and saw that it was lined with worry.

"What? Where is he?" I asked, sitting up.

"I don't know, I saw he was gone and came up here to wake you, which took longer than I expected"

"Ok," I ignored the last part of her comment, "I'll go check on Beckett and you go see if you can find him." She nodded and I got out of the bed and went down the hall. I opened the door to find Beckett in the same place I had left her, and Castle lying on his stomach, cuddling her, with a pillow over his head and his arm slung over her back. He was wearing the same shirt he was wearing yesterday and dark blue boxers. His pants were lying in a heap on the floor next to the bed.

I shut the door quietly and went to look for Alexis. I found her in Castle's office, behind his desk.

"He's in his room." I said. She jumped slightly, and then looked at me confused.

"And Beckett?"

"She's there too. He's in his boxers, but luckily other than that they were both still wearing their clothes."

Alexis shook her head. "I don't know why they won't admit they're in love with each other. It's so obvious to everyone else."

A phone rang somewhere upstairs.

"That's not my dad's." She said, "He'd never have a generic ringtone like that."

"I'll go get it." I said, running to get to Castle's room before it stopped ringing. I didn't make it, but soon after it stopped, it started ringing again.

Beckett kept her phone in her front right pocket, which was lucky for me, because Castle was lying to her left. She shivered slightly when my hand accidentally touched the gap between her jeans and her shirt where bare skin was showing, but I finally managed to get the phone out of her pocket and saw that it was Lanie calling.

"Hello?"

"Beckett?"

"No, it's Jessie."

"Jessie? Where's Beckett?"

"She's… umm…" I didn't know what to tell her. I was sure Beckett wouldn't want me to tell Lanie she was in Castle's bed, most likely with a massive hangover.

"Is she there?"

"Yeah." I went with the safe answer, "But she's sleeping."

"Sleeping? The girl gets up at 6:30 every day, whether she has to work or not. Why is she sleeping at 9:15?" So much for my safe answer.

"She may have… uh…"

"What did she do to herself?"

"She may have had too much to drink last night."

"Why?"

"Well, Castle said-"

"Hold your breath, I know the rest. I'm coming over." I heard her get up and the jingling of keys.

"Wait!" I said quickly, before she could hang up, "We're not at her apartment."

"Then… where… are you?" I bit my lip and looked down at Beckett lying on the bed, and then at Castle snuggled up next to her.

"We're at Castle's"

* * *

**Beckett**

When I woke up my head was pounding like it was about to explode and my throat was as dry as the Sahara Desert. I was afraid to move, for fear of upsetting my stomach more and throwing up, and it was difficult to open my eyes.

Long story short, I hurt everywhere.

When I finally did open my eyes, I saw Lanie sitting in a chair next to the bed, a glass of water in her hand and a bucket sitting next to her on the floor.

"She's alive." Lanie whispered, and then pointed to the bucket, "You need this?" I shook my head and immediately regretted the action. It did not help my pounding head. "I'm fine."

"Girl, you are _not_ fine. I saw all the bottles you two drank last night. Anyone who drank that much would _not_ be fine in the morning." She held the glass of water out to me. "Drink this,"

I went to sit up and I realized someone's arm was on my back. I moved my head (slowly) to look over at Castle, who was still asleep. It was weird how normal it felt to be cuddled next to him.

"Don't look now," Lanie said, "But Writer Boy isn't wearing pants."

I was able to get his arm off of me (He rolled onto his back in the process) and sit up, leaning against the headboard, before nausea overcame me and Lanie handed me the bucket. When I was done I put it back on the floor and Lanie handed me the water. This time I took it, and drank it-too quickly- and my head throbbed even more for a couple seconds.

I looked over at Castle again. He was so cute when he slept… No, I couldn't think like that. I had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who my daughter didn't like… Castle on the other hand…

"Where's Jessie and Alexis?" I asked Lanie, distracting myself

"I told them to stay downstairs. I figured you wouldn't want them to see you like this."

"Uungh." Castle groaned, flinging his arm over his eyes. "Who turned on the Sun?"

"I'm pretty sure its been 'on' for about four and a half billion years, Castle." I told him

"And why am I not wearing pants?" He asked, raising his eyebrow at me.

"I think you just took your pants off, threw them in the middle of the floor, and went to bed." Lanie said

"So we were both drunk, in my bed, I wasn't wearing pants, and nothing happened?" I just stared at him, wanting to shake my head but not wanting to make it pound worse. "What a waste!"

"Shh…" I said softly, "Talk quieter." I leaned my throbbing head against the headboard and closed my eyes.

"I'm going to get medicine and more water," Lanie said, "You-" she pointed at me, "-Stay here. And you-" she pointed at Castle "-Just be good."

"No promises." He told her. As soon as she left, he jumped up, stumbling and holding his head in his hands for a minute, and pulled his pants on. He flopped back down on the bed and put the palms of his hands over his eyes. "Ouch."

"I agree." I said, getting out of the bed. I went downstairs to find Lanie filling a glass of water in the sink.

"Girl." She said exasperatedly, "You look like hell. Get back in bed."

"I'm fine, Lanie." I said, taking the medicine and glass of water she offered me.

"You are not fine! You know, it's ok to accept help sometimes." She told me

"I know. But I don't need help." I said, leaning against the counter because I felt like I was about to pass out. "I'm fine."

"You're not fooling anyone, Beckett. Now go back to bed before I carry you up there."

"Hey Beckett," Jessie said, coming into the kitchen, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." I told her.

"Stop that." Lanie told me. "We all know you're not fine. Now march your butt back upstairs, before I make you."

"Fine." I muttered and went back up the stairs to Castle's room.

When I got under the covers and turned onto my side away from him, he snuggled up behind me and put an arm around my stomach. I elbowed him in the ribs.

"Get _off_ me, Castle"

"Ow!" Hangovers make you cranky." He grumbled, turning over so he was facing the other way.

* * *

_**I've also never had a hangover, so I don't know how realistic this is either. Sorry if it's nothing like real life.**_

_**Comments are much appreciated! Please and thank you!**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Beckett**

When I woke up a few hours later I really did feel a lot better. Castle was still sleeping, so I got out of bed as quietly as I could and went downstairs to see what was going on. I found Alexis and Jessie sitting on the couch, and Lanie sitting in the chair in the living room. They were all watching Firefly on Castle's shower curtain projector.

"Hey," Lanie said when she noticed me, "You feeling better?"

"Yeah." I went and sat between the two teens, and we watched in silence for a few minutes as Captain Malcolm Reynolds and Hoban Washburne (Wash) were tortured by Adelei Niska.

"You know," I told Alexis, "I always thought Mal looked like your dad." She rolled her eyes.

"I know he does." She agreed, "And Dad loves it. He's always said he wants to be able to call himself Captain."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

When the episode was over, Alexis paused the disk so it wouldn't go to the next episode and then all three of them turned to look at me.

"What?" I asked, looking quickly between them.

"Girl, when are you and Castle going to start going out?" Lanie asked bluntly

"What?" I had a feeling they had planned this.

"Beckett," Alexis said, "My dad loves you. Why can't you see it?"

"I…"

"We know you like him too." Jessie chimed in.

"I don't. I-"

"You do. Lanie interrupted. "You loved him before you even met him."

"No I didn't, I-"

"Oh, right," Lanie said sarcastically, "You just liked the books. That's right." and then in her normal voice said, "But it was only _his _books that you read. You didn't read James Patterson or Stephen J. Cannell when your mom died."

"No, but-"

"Ask him out" Jessie said

"I know he's say yes." Alexis added.

"No. It wouldn't work."

"And why not?" Lanie wanted to know

"Because we… I mean he… I mean I… it just wouldn't work"

"Oh, that's good." Jessie said sarcastically, "Because I was worried you were going to be vague about it."

* * *

**Jessie**

Alexis and I had told Lanie everything that had happened last night starting with Castle's challenge and ending with how he had collapsed on the floor and Beckett had collapsed on his bed.

"I told that boy Beckett could take him." She said, shaking her head, "But he doesn't listen to me."

"He doesn't usually listen to _anyone_ when they tell him he can't do something." Alexis said, sounding a little annoyed.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Dad, are you ok?" Alexis asked as soon as Castle had come down the stairs

"Yeah, pumpkin, I'm fine." He answered

"We really need to get going" Beckett told me

"No, stay." Castle said pleadingly, "Please?"

"Last time you said that I ended up passed out in you bed. This time we really are leaving."

"I would be ok if you passed out in my bed again." Castle said, "Or if you were in my bed not passed out." Beckett rolled her eyes.

"Ew, Dad, stop." Alexis said, covering her ears and making Castle laugh.

"Ok, Jessie." Beckett said, heading toward the door, "Come on, we're leaving now"

"Ok, bye Alexis, bye Castle." I said as she ushered me out the door.

"I'm sorry about that." Beckett said when we got to her car.

"About Castle being a perv, or you getting drunk and cuddling with him?" I asked, smiling at her

"I didn't cuddle with him."

"You kinda did."

"No I- You aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"Nope."

She stopped at a spotlight and said, "But I meant about making you sleep over there."

"Oh, it was fine. I really like Alexis." She started driving again.

"Good. She's like the perfect child"

"Yeah and that usually annoys me, but I like her."

"Do you want to go get your stuff now?"

"Sure"

"Jessie?" Her sudden serious tone made me look over at her.

"Yeah?" I turned back to the road just in time to see a big puck-up truck zooming through the intersection just as we were.

I heard a crash, and was flung forward, and then everything went black.

* * *

Yay, cliffhangers! Woohoo!

Anyway, sorry you had to wait longer then normal for this update, I went on vacation and didn't have a computer. (I could have warned you beforehand, but i wasn't told we were going somewhere until the day before we left, AFTER I had updated the last time.)

Please Comment!


	15. Chapter 15

**Beckett**

I could feel shards of glass in my forehead, but I didn't care. All I could think was that my daughter had gone through the windshield.

_Why hadn't she been wearing her seatbelt? Why hadn't I noticed she wasn't wearing her seatbelt?_

I opened the door and stumbled out. A spot of blood, from my head I realized, hit the pavement. I heard a car stop behind me, turned, and realized it was Castle's car. _Why was Castle here?_

I ran over to my daughter and knelt next to her on the street. She had rolled of the hood of the car, and landed on the street. There was blood all over her. She had glass in her hair and in her face and arms. She was taking short, shallow breaths.

_Good. She's still breathing._

Castle ran up and knelt beside me.

"Beckett?" I ignored him.

"Jessie?" I almost yelled, frantically, "Jessie, can you hear me?"

"Kate?" Castle said urgently.

"Jessie, say something!"

"Kate!" Castle grabbed my shoulders and shook me, turning me to face him. "Kate, she can't hear you. She needs an ambulance." He got up and pulled his phone out of his pocket, and I slumped to the down on the ground.

Soon I heard sirens and then the EMTs were taking Jessie and me into the ambulance. Castle tried to follow, but was stopped by one of them.

"You can't come, sir."

"No, they need me." He was saying, "I have to come."

"Sir, please stay back."

"Castle." I said weakly, "Let him come." I told the EMT.

"But-"

"Please." I was starting to feel lightheaded. The EMT nodded and stepped aside, and Castle jumped into the ambulance. He sat next to me, and as we started driving he hesitantly put his arms around me, as if he was wondering if I would push him off. I didn't.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Once we got to the hospital, everything moved very fast. The doors opened and the EMTs rushed Jessie out and started telling the doctors that were waiting what was wrong with her and what had happened.

"Are you her mother?" One of them asked me

"Yes."

"She needs surgery now." He said urgently, and then they were taking her away, into the building. I tried to run after her, but Castle held me back.

"No, I have to go with her!" I yelled desperately at him, struggling to get away, but he held my upper arms tight.

"Kate." He said, trying to get me to stop struggling, "Kate!" I stopped and looked at him. "She needs to go to the OR. You can't go to the OR with her." He said calmly, and then he touched my forehead next to where the glass was. "And you need stitches."

"She needs me." I said, my voice sounding pathetic. Castle shook his head sadly.

"She won't even know you're not there. Now, you need to go get the glass out of your head and get stitches so you can get it over with and be there when she wakes up." I nodded and allowed him to lead my by the hand into the hospital.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

A couple of hours later we were in the waiting room when a doctor came in and told us that Jessie was in critical condition. He said that they had done everything they could do for now, and that they needed to see if she would make it through the night, but that we could see her soon. My heart sank and I slumped into a chair. I felt broken and defeated. I didn't realize I was crying until Castle reached over and wiped a tear off my cheek.

"Oh, sorry." I said, wiping my eyes. I didn't like anyone to see me cry.

"You're apologizing for crying?" He asked, "Your daughter is in the hospital in critical condition and the doctors don't know if she'll make it through the night." He somehow made it sound not as bad as it was. "I think that's reason enough for crying." I looked over at him gratefully and he pulled me into a comforting hug.

"I just got her back, Castle." I whispered into his shoulder.

"I know."

"I don't want to loose her again."

"I know."

"Castle?"

"Yeah?"

"Why were you following my car?"

"Oh." He pulled away, reaching into his pocket and handing me my phone. "You left this at my apartment."

"Oh," I said, surprised. "Thanks.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Another hour later, the doctor came back and told us we could go see Jessie. He led us down the hallway and to a room. He motioned inside, instructed us to call him if she woke up, and then he left. The room was small. It had two chairs, a window facing the outside, and had little bed where Jessie was lying, still unconscious. She had white gauze around her head and she looked so small and frail hooked up to all of those tubes and machines.

"Oh, Jessie…" I whispered, blinking back tears. Castle rubbed my shoulder.

"She's going to be ok."

"You don't know that." I told him, turning to face him.

"Maybe not, but she's strong. She's a fighter. Just like her mother."

"I just wish…" I sat down and took Jessie's hand in mine. "I just wish this was me. I wish she wasn't hurt. I just wish…" I trailed off.

"I know." Castle said quietly. "When Alexis was seven she got hit by some kid riding his bike. She just had to get stitches, it was nowhere near this bad, but I wished it was me that needed stitches too."

I smiled sadly at him. This was something Josh couldn't do for me. He had never been a parent. He didn't understand _this. _In his life, he came first. He didn't understand wanting to put your child first. He didn't understand being a father. Castle did. Castle knew how I felt. In that moment, I knew what I needed to do.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Hey, Beautiful." It was about midnight and I was still sitting beside Jessie, refusing to leave her until she woke up. Castle had left about 8 to be with Alexis. I looked toward the door in the direction of the voice.

"Hey, Josh." He came over and squatted beside me.

"How's she doing?"

"You tell me, you're the doctor."

"She hasn't woken up?"

"No. Listen, Josh, can I talk to you?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"I can't do this." I said, shaking my head.

"Do what?"

"Us. It's just that…I feel like we're in different places in our lives. I don't think you're ready to be a parent. I never see you, and I need someone who can be there for me."

"I'm here for you now."

"Yeah, you are, but in 20 minutes, you'll be called down to save someone's life, and I can't ask you to stay here with me and not go."

"Kate…"

"And I think I was dating you to hide from my feelings for Castle, and that isn't fair to you, me, or him, and I'm sorry.

"So," He stood up, "Goodbye, then?" I nodded slightly

"Goodbye." He kissed my forehead, where the stitches weren't, and then turned around and walked out. The funny thing is, I didn't feel sad at all to see him go.

* * *

_**Haha, you still don't know if Jessie is going to be ok.**_

_**I may or may not have gotten the car crash idea from Grey's Anatomy's musical episode (And by that I mean I definitely did).**_

_**Next chapter you'll know if Jessie makes it though, I promise.**_

_**I hope you enjoyed! Please comment! (You know you want to)**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Beckett**

At four in the morning, Castle came back. "Have you even slept at all?" He asked, seeing that I was in the same spot that he had left me in.

"No."

"You need sleep."

"No I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"Castle, I don't need sleep. What I need is my daughter back."

"She hasn't left."

"No, but they don't know if she'll wake up."

"Stop saying that."

"But it's true." He didn't have an argument for that, so we sat in silence for a while.

"It's my fault." I finally said what was on my mind.

"What? How would this-" he motioned to Jessie "-be your fault?"

"I was driving. I should've seen the other guy coming sooner, I should've stopped, I should've noticed she wasn't wearing a seatbelt, I should've…" I trialed off, trying not to cry again.

"It's not your fault. I saw the crash. The guy ran a red light. There was no way you could've known he wasn't going to stop. How many times have _you_ told the families of murder victims it wasn't their fault?" I stared at him in horror and he realized what he had said. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, Kate, I didn't mean that, I just-"

"I know." I sighed. "You were just trying to make me feel better. We were quiet again for a while.

"You need to eat something." He said eventually.

"No. I'm not hungry."

"Have you eaten since lunch yesterday?"

"No."

"I couldn't make you eat dinner last night." He glanced at the hospital cafeteria food he had brought me that I still hadn't touched. "Starving yourself isn't going to make Jessie better. Neither is sleep depriving yourself. I will _make_ you eat breakfast today."

"Mom?" came a croaky half-whisper from the bed. Castle and I both looked quickly at Jessie, whose eyelids were fluttering.

"Yeah, honey?" I took her hand again and she looked at me, her eyes slightly unfocused.

"Eat something."

"Ok, baby." I laughed, relieved. I jumped up and gave her a hug.

"Ahh." She whispered like it hurt.

"Sorry!" I immediately let go, then turned to Castle. "Call the doctor. He said to call him if she woke up." He held up the call button.

"Already done."

"Thank you." I said gratefully.

* * *

**Jessie**

I felt like I had bruises on every inch of my body. My head, shoulders, and back hurt the most. I could hear people talking before I could open my eyes. At first it just sounded like mumbles, and I couldn't hear what they were saying, but then my hearing got sharper, and I could hear the voices of Castle and Beckett. It sounded like they were arguing.

"I couldn't make you eat dinner last night." I heard Castle say, "Starving yourself isn't going to make Jessie better. Neither is sleep depriving yourself. I will _make_ you eat breakfast today." I tried to speak, but it sounded more like a croak-whisper

"Mom?" I tried to open my eyes, and someone grabbed my hand.

"Yes, baby?" My vision was blurry, but I tried to look at her.

"Eat something." I told her. A relieved smile spread across her face and she laughed.

"Ok baby." She jumped up and gave me a hug. I tried not to make a noise in pain, but a whisper escaped my lips anyway.

"Sorry!" Beckett said quickly, immediately letting go and backing up. She told Castle to call the doctor, and I closed my eyes. It took too much effort to keep them open.

"How are you feeling?" Beckett asked

"I've been better."

"Are you in pain?"

"Mostly my head."

"That's to be expected." An unfamiliar voice said. I opened my eyes and saw a doctor walking in. "I'm Dr. Anderson" He introduced himself. "What's the last thing you remember?" I thought for a minute, trying to remember anything after the crash.

"I remember the crash… and then the next thing I can remember is waking up, like, two minutes ago." He nodded.

"You have many cuts and scratches, only a few of which needed stitches. You have a lot of bruising on your back, but luckily nothing there is broken. You do, however, have a broken ankle and a few broken ribs. The worst of your injuries are your head and chest though. You had a pretty severe brain bleed and there is a small hole in your heart." That terrified me. _There's a hole in my heart? How does that even happen?_ I could tell by the look on Beckett's face that she was having similar thoughts. She grabbed my hand again.

"But she's going to be ok though, right?" Castle asked

"Dr. Davidson will have to operate on her heart as soon as possible. After that we will be able to tell you." Castle and Beckett glanced at each other.

"Josh?" Beckett asked hesitantly. Dr. Anderson looked confused.

"Yes, Josh. Wait- are you Kate?"

"Yeah…"

"I heard you broke up with him." Beckett went bright red and it was my turn to be confused.

"What? How long was I out?" I asked rhetorically. I could tell by the grin on Castle's face that this was the first he'd heard of this too, but he was silent.

"I just realized we were in different places in our lives." Beckett said, embarrassed.

"You mean you being a mom and him not being ready for that?" I asked her. If it was possible, her face got even redder.

"Can we talk about this after the surgery? The doctor did say they need to operate 'as soon as possible'."

"Ok." I agreed with an even voice, even though I was terrified. I needed surgery on my heart. That's not something a 14 year old should need or have to worry about.

"I'll get someone to come prep you for surgery then" Dr. Anderson said, and then he turned around and left.

* * *

_**I'm not a doctor. Grey's Anatomy is the extent of my knowledge of medicine.**_

_**I wouldn't kill Jessie, sillys. Jessie is basically me, (Except that I am not Beckett's daughter, I'm not adopted, my mom wasn't a teenage mom, and nobody I know has been murdered, but that's not my point) I wouldn't kill myself, that would just be… suicide… (But apparently I need to go to bed because I just called ya'll sillys…)**_

_**Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay in updating. Something came up in my family and I was distracted. **_

_**Don't forget to comment! Please?**_


	17. Chapter 17

**Beckett**

"The surgery is going to take a while. You don't need to stay in the waiting room the whole time. This is the perfect time to do what Jessie told you and _eat something_." I rolled my eyes but allowed Castle to lead me onto the elevator and down to the hospital cafeteria.

Halfway through eating an apple, the alarm on my phone went off.

"Shit. I have to work today." I remembered

"I'll call the captain and tell him the situation, I'm sure he'll let you have a day or two off." How he knew I didn't want to have to explain to anyone the situation, I have no idea.

"Thank you." was all I could think to say.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

After we ate, Castle and I went back to the waiting room again, waiting for my daughter to get out of surgery. _Heart_ surgery. I hoped I didn't distract Josh too much by breaking up with him, and that he could still operate properly.

"That was the first time she called me mom." I suddenly realized

"What?" Castle had been lost in his own thoughts

"When she woke up, that was the first time she called me 'mom'. She usually calls me Beckett."

"Well that's good, right? It means she's starting to see you as her mom instead of just someone who's taking care of her?"

"I can't believe I didn't realize it before…"

"Well, you were kind of distracted, I mean, you had just gotten hit by a truck less than twelve hours before."

"I guess, but you would think I would've noticed it right away..." We were silent for a few minutes before Castle said

"So, you broke up with Josh, huh?" He had obviously been trying to think of something to say.

"Not now, Castle." I told him, shaking my head.

"Hey, look, I'm just trying to distract you from the fact that we're in a hospital."

"I don't need you to de-" He cut me off mid-word by pressing his lips to mine. It was short and quick, but it surprised me.

"That was certainly distracting." I breathed.

"That was the point." He leaned in and kissed me again. "You taste like hospital food." He whispered.

"Huh. That's strange. I've never had hospital food before"

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Miss Beckett?" I looked up from the magazine I was flipping through, but not really reading and saw a nurse standing in front of me.

"Yes?"

"Jessica's surgery is over now, everything went well, and she should be fine. She's in recovery now; you can see her in a couple of hours."

"She's going to be ok?"

"Yes. She's going to be just fine." Relief spread through me. I let out a breath and wondered how long I'd been holding it.

"Thank you."

She smiled. "You're welcome, Miss. We're just doing our job." She walked away and Castle rubbed my arm.

"See? I told you she would be fine."

"Thank you, too." I told him, "I don't know if I could've made it through this without you. Thank you for being there for me."

"Always."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

* * *

**Jessie**

"Hey, how's my favorite hospital patient?" Castle asked, coming into the room and seeing that I was awake.

"I'm the only hospital patient you know."

"All the more reason for you to be my favorite!" He said, grinning. I rolled my eyes. It was the day after I had woken up and had heart surgery, and I still felt achy all over, and the hospital gown was uncomfortable. The doctors said I had to stay in the hospital for a while, but I had insisted that Beckett go to work today. I didn't need her here, and she could do more good by catching killers than sitting here with nothing much to do.

"Did Beckett send you here to check on me?" He sat in one of the chairs next to the bed.

"Yep. She seemed to think if she texted you, you might lie."

"And she trusts you not to lie?"

"Well, I won't have to. You seem ok."

"Ok for being hit by a truck" He laughed.

"How long are you supposed to stay?" It seemed pretty silly for him to come see if I was ok and then leave right away.

"I was told to keep you company. Beckett said you might be lonely."

"I'm more bored than lonely. There's _nothing_ to do here. I can watch TV, but there's nothing good on." He looked at the TV

"Is that a DVD player?"

"Yeah. But I don't have DVDs here either."

"I can go get something, do you have a preference?"

"Do you have Lost?"

"No, I've never seen it."

"You've never seen Lost? Well, then you definitely need to get it."

"You want me to go buy it?"

"I own the whole series, but I can't go get it. Apparently I'm not allowed out of the hospital."

"Can I go get it for you?"

"Sure. Check in that dresser cabinet thing for my pants." I pointed and when he found them I continued, "There should be a key to my house in the front, right pocket." He pulled it out.

"This one?"

"Yeah." I gave him my address and told him where to find the DVDs, and he left. Then I realized I would be bored again for a while.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

When Castle got back he raised his eyebrows at me. "You failed to mention it was a _box_ of stuff_._" He set the box on my lap.

"Yeah, Christina gave me this collector's set for my last birthday. I used to be really obsessed with Lost when it was still on." I took the lid off and started taking things out until I found the smaller box with the DVDs in it.

"What one are we going to watch first?" Castle asked

"The first one, duh." I said jokingly, "You would be _so _confused if we started in the middle."

"I would not." He said defensively

"Castle, I'm still confused at some parts, and I've seen every episode at least twice." I handed him a DVD and he popped it into the player.

* * *

_**If you've never seen Lost, you may be confused by the next few Jessie chapters, but I haven't decided how I'm going to do it yet, so I'm not sure. Then again, the point of Lost is pretty much to confuse you… Anyway, I thought that Lost + Castle's crazy theories = FUN! (Plus, it gives me an excuse to watch the episodes again besides that I just want to)**_

_**I hope ya'll enjoyed! Reviews are appreciated! Whatever you're thinking right now, just click the little button down here that says Review**_


	18. Chapter 18

_**I realized I forgot to thank AiameKuroshi for the idea about Lost. You can blame…. I mean thank her for that. She would also like me to tell you that the Esposito burrito thing from the 6**__**th**__** chapter was her idea too. **_

_**P.S. sorry for the no quick update, I was sick. Well, actually I'm still sick, but at least I don't feel like crap like I have the past few days. **_

_**Oh, and also, the italicized words are what is happening on Lost.**_

* * *

**Beckett**

I tried to concentrate the paperwork I was supposed to be doing, but my thoughts kept wandering back to Jessie. She had somehow managed to convince me to go to work today, and I'm pretty sure she's the only one who could've done that.

All day I had worried about how she was, until I finally asked Castle to go stay with her. He hadn't complained at all, which I thought was strange, because he usually never wants to leave the precinct if I'm there, unless something is up with Alexis.

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to focus back on my paperwork, but I just couldn't concentrate. Even though Castle had texted me and told me that Jessie was fine, I still couldn't pay attention to the dull work.

"Yo, you ok, Beckett?" Esposito asked, leaning back in his chair

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lied, but he knew me too well for it to work.

"If you need to go, go. We can take care of this." He indicated the papers on my desk.

"No, Jessie would be mad if I told her I was going to work and then ended up coming back."

"So, you're worried your daughter will be mad at you for caring about her too much to concentrate at work?" When he put it that way, it sounded like a stupid concern, but I still didn't want to risk it.

"Yes. I'm fine here."

"Is that why you sent Castle instead of going yourself?"

"Yeah, that and Castle's a pain in the ass." He really hadn't been today, and I was really grateful to him for being there for me, but I was hoping to joke and end this conversation. It worked. Esposito turned back to his work and I checked my phone for the umpteenth time to see if I had missed the buzz that meant Castle had texted me again.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

A couple hours later, I realized I was going to get absolutely nothing done, and told Ryan and Esposito to finish the paperwork. I left the precinct, but didn't feel like I could go back to the hospital yet. Jessie had complained about the food there yesterday, so I thought I would go get her some food from Panera. I texted her to see what she wanted, and she replied 'Baked potato soup. Castle wants some too.' I smiled, and sent back, 'Tell Castle he's paying me for it' Then I got on my motorcycle (my car was totaled in the crash) and was off to get some food.

* * *

**Jessie**

"_I don't know your name."_

"_I'm Kate."_

"_Jack" They hear strange noises in the jungle and see trees being knocked down. Everyone gathers to watch, but they can't see what is doing it._

"What is that?" Castle asked

"I don't know" I answered

"Yes you do."

"Yeah, but if I tell you, it'll ruin the suspense. And unless I explained a lot you would be even more confused than you are now."

"Is it a dinosaur?"

"No."

"Is it an alien?"

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

"No. now shut up and watch."

"Fine." He grumbled.

_More trees are knocked down and the strange noises continue. _

"_Terrific"_

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

_The pilot is ripped from the cockpit through a hole and blood splatters the windows. Charlie asks, "What the hell just happened?"_

"That just about sums up most peoples thoughts on the whole series."

"What does?"

I did my best to imitate Charlie, "What the hell just happened?"

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

_Walt walks up and sees Locke playing backgammon. "What is it, like checkers?"_

"_No, it's a better game than checkers."_

"When Locke explains backgammon, he explains the whole show." I told Castle

"Huh."

"_Two players. Two sides. One is light. One is dark."_

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

As Castle got up to put the next disk in, he said, "That chair is really uncomfortable to sit in for a long period of time. I don't know how Beckett sat there all night."

"You can sit on the bed. I think there's room for both of us."

"Are you sure?" He put the disk in the DVD player and turned to face me.

"Yeah." I scooted over to the edge of the bed to made room for him.

* * *

_**Who liked it? Who hated it? Who was utterly confused by the Lost parts? I wanna know! Thanks for reading, ya'll!**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Beckett**

When I got to the hospital with the food, I found Castle in Jessie's bed with Jessie curled up (the best she could be with a cast on her foot and lower leg) next to him, asleep. She had her head on his chest and her arm slung over his stomach, and he had an arm wrapped around her.

"That may be the cutest thing I've ever seen." I whispered, walking in. Castle looked away from the TV and noticed me.

"Oh, hey." He whispered. "Are you calling me cute, detective?" When I just glared at him, he said, "One of the nurses came in and gave her some pain killers. She was out within a half hour."

"She got you to watch Lost, huh?" I asked, looking at the TV. He paused it and said

"Yeah, but for the past hour I've had to pee really badly, but I don't want to wake her up." I smiled and went to sit in one of the chairs. Jessie started twitching slightly. I thought it was cute until the movements became more violent and she started screaming. Castle wrapped his arms around her tightly and shook her lightly.

"Jessie, it's ok, wake up." He whispered to her. She opened her eyes and stared at him, the terror in her eyes evident. After a few seconds, she buried her face in his chest and started sobbing. Castle looked at me, a mixture of fear and confusion on his face, and then he started rubbing Jessie's back and smoothing her hair comfortingly.

"It's ok, Jessie," He told her, "It was just a dream." He continued whispering comfortingly and I realized I was standing. I didn't remember getting up, but I sat back down.

"Is she…?" I hadn't noticed, but Alexis had walked in and saw Jessie and Castle.

"She's ok." I told her, "She just had a nightmare."

"Oh." Alexis came in and sat in the chair on the other side of the bed. Castle smiled at her, but continued whispering to Jessie.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"You should go." Castle had asked me to go on a date with him in front of Alexis and Jessie, and the three of them were now trying to get me to say yes.

"No, Alexis," I tried to come up with another argument, but I really couldn't think on one.

"Yeah, Alexis can stay here and keep me company." Jessie added, and Alexis nodded in agreement.

"Guys-"

"Please?" Castle begged, sounding like a five year old. I smiled and shook my head, closing my eyes.

"Fine."

"Yes!" Castle cried, high-fiving Alexis, and then Jessie. I rolled my eyes, and Castle stood up. Walking around the bed, he came and held his arm out to me. "Well, come on, Detective." I rolled my eyes again and took his arm.

"If you need anything, _anything,_ call me." I told Jessie and Alexis.

"Yeah, yeah, but I won't need to." Jessie said, "Have fun!"

* * *

**Jessie**

"What do you think they're doing?" I asked Alexis, who was braiding my hair.

"I don't know. Dad probably tried to take Beckett out to eat somewhere fancy and she probably vetoed it."

"Yeah, probably."

"I've always wanted a little sister." She said quietly, finishing the braid

"What?" I asked, turning to face her.

"I've always wanted a little sister. Someone who I could braid their hair, paint their nails, stuff like that. My dad doesn't really like it when I try to paint his nails." She laughed.

"Is this you trying to get me to let you paint my nails?"

"Can I?"

I sighed, "Fine." She reached into her purse and took out a bottle of red nail polish. I put my hand out and she started to paint the nails.

"Dawn didn't believe me."

"Huh?"

"She texted me on Monday and asked why I wasn't at school. I told her I got hit by a truck and she didn't believe me."

"I probably wouldn't have either. And you technically didn't get hit by a truck; you were in a car crash with a truck."

"Same thing"

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

When Beckett came back that night, she was practically glowing with happiness. "So, how was your date?" I asked her, and she smiled even bigger.

"It was wonderful." She sat on the bed next to me.

"Where'd you go?"

"At first he wouldn't tell me where we were going, but it turned out we were going to take a horse-drawn carriage ride around the central park. It was so beautiful. Afterwards, he took me to The Central Park Boathouse Café, and we were _so _underdressed, but we didn't care. He just went up and said he'd reserved a table and they sat us. It was wonderful"

"See? Aren't you glad we made you say yes?"

"Yes. Thank you." She gave me a hug.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"You're acting like a teenager.

* * *

_**I think there will only be one or two more chapters in this story, but there will most likely be a sequel.**_

_**The Central Park Boathouse Café is a real place, but I've never been there, so the only things I know about it is what's online.**_

_**Because I'm sick and didn't go to school today, you get chapters two days in a row!**_

_**Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!**_


	20. Chapter 20 The End

**Jessie**

I woke up the next morning and saw Beckett in the chair next to me, her elbows resting on her knees and her head in her hands. "Don't you ever sleep in your own bed anymore?" I asked her. I had expected her to leave after I fell asleep.

"Not when my daughter is in the hospital."

"I get to go home today though, right?"

"Last I heard."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course"

"Why didn't you want to go on a date with Castle last night?" She laughed.

"Oh, I did, but seeing him beg was just too much fun to let him know that." I laughed too.

"It was pretty funny." I agreed "So, are you guys a couple now?" She nodded.

"Yeah. As long as that's alright with you and Alexis"

"Are you kidding? Of course it's ok"

"That's what ewe figured you'd say." Right then Alexis and Castle walked in. "Speak of the devil."

"I'm not that bad, am I?" He asked

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"If I get to leave, I think I need to change out of this." I said, pulling at the hospital gown I was wearing.

"Right." Beckett said, getting up and taking my clothes out of the dresser cabinet thing.

"Castle, go away." I told him.

"Well, aren't we bossy." He muttered, going out into the hallway.

We struggled for a while, trying to get my pant leg over my cast.

"This isn't working." I informed Beckett.

"I see that." She muttered, trying to force it to quickly glide over the cast, and failing. "Do you have any sweatpants I can use? It might fit better."

"Not with me, but I can go get some."

"I'll go." Alexis said, "You can stay here. My apartment is closer than yours anyway.

When Alexis got back, she made Castle go back in the hallway. We got the sweatpants on easily. "We should've just tried that first." I told them.

**Beckett**

A little while later, a nurse walked in. "You ready to finally be able to go home?" She asked Jessie

"Yeah."

"Well, everything is taken care of, you are free to go."

"Wait, don't we have to pay medical bills or something?" I asked, and she looked at the clipboard she was holding.

"It looks like the expenses have already been pain for."

"By who?'

"By a Mr. Richard Castle." She said, and then the nurse left. I turned to Castle.

"Would you like to explain?"

"Well, I thought Jessie probably doesn't have insurance, because your insurance at work isn't a family thing because you didn't need one until a few days ago, and I thought you probably couldn't afford it, so… I asked one of the doctors if I could pay… for... it…" He trailed off, and backed away from me a little.

"Mom." Jessie said, "Calm down. You look like flames are about to shoot out of your ears. He was just trying to help." I took a deep breath. He always had to do things behind my back.

"You know, I probably would've let you pay for it if you would've asked. If this is going to work, you have to stop doing things behind my back." I said in as calm a voice as I could manage.

"You're right." Castle said quickly. "I should've asked you, and I didn't. I'm sorry."

"Come on, guys, lets go." Jessie said, getting up and hobbling over to the door on her crutches. "Are you coming?" She asked, when we didn't follow.

"Yeah. Come on, Castle, come on, Alexis. Let's go." I followed her out and as I left the hospital with my new-found family, I was thinking that we could survive anything life threw at us.

**THE END!**

_**Wow, three chapters in two days? That must be some kind of record. See how much I can accomplish when I don't have to go to school?**_

_**This is the last time I get to ask you for reviews on this story… so… Who liked the ending? **_

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story. A lot of them really did make my day.**_


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